บท 301: Malygnant Offer
"Excuse me, Michael?" Yisra asks quietly asks before sitting opposite him as he was studying in a quiet corner of the Arcanaeum.
He glances up from his book about Magicka and how it interacts with the environment, raising a brow at his uninvited guest. "Did you need something?"
Yisra shakes her head, but the way she begins chewing on his lip shows that something was clearly bugging her. "I, I wanted your advice on something."
...
"My advice? You barely know me." he replies, having only had a few short conversations with the girl. Sure they occasionally stood together during lectures, but that was merely to bounce ideas off of one another.
She lets out a sigh, "It's not like I can turn to anyone else... The only other people I know here are Borvir, Ilas, Orthorn, and Nirya... One's an idiot with only mead in his mind, one's only interested if it's about scrolls, one's a mindless kiss-ass, and one's a bitch who only spits venom from her mouth... Please, you could really help me out here."
"What about Tiff or Charlotte?"
"I know even less about Charlotte than I do about you, and Tiffania isn't someone I'd consider reliable for something like this... No offence." she admits.
...
"Just tell me what it is and I'll see if I have an answer for you." he shrugs as he sets down his books and shows that he's listening.
...
"I received a request the other day, well, it was worded more like an order... Master Malyn Varen has requested me to assist in his research and I don't think I can refuse... I don't have enough gold to pay for my tuition here, so unless another Master intervenes..."
Michael nods and sheepishly scratches his cheek, "Yeah, this might be my fault actually... With Sorkas and Jernil gone, he's lacking on people for his research, he even tried to coerce me into working for him since I was the one who caused them to leave... Lucky I've got enough gold to pay my way and a working relationship with the Arch-Mage..."
"Good for you... But how do I get out of this?" she asks and only now realising that Michael was partly at fault for her situation.
"Why not accept? He's a talented man from what I hear, I might've accepted if I didn't have other things to do and learn."
Yisra shakes her head, "I've heard things about him and his students, that they'd sometimes leave on tasks and never return. That, and the fact he keeps the subject of his research hidden... Only someone with something to hide would do that."
"Or someone with revolutionary ideas who wants to reap the profits of his work?" Michael retorts, causing a frown to creep onto the Redguard's face.
"Can you help me or not? Because I'll find a way out of this, my instincts are screaming that accepting is a bad idea. My instincts have never steered me wrong, I'm almost certain that working for that man is a death sentence!"
"Hey! Silence in the Arcanaeum!" Urag shouts from across the room, causing Yisra to shrink in on herself.
Michael taps his fingers on the table rhythmically while observing her, "I mean, if you're that certain about it... How about this, I'll pay for you to stay here, but you'll work for me. You'll assist with my studies, write notes during lectures I'm unable to attend, gather materials, etc. How's that sound?"
Without a shred of hesitation, she nods with an eager look on her face, "I accept. It's no different to what a Master might ask of you, plus, I probably won't die under your care."
"Alright," he mutters under his breath, retrieving the Book of Heroes and tossing her enough gold to cover her stay here for half a year. "Keep that safe, if it gets stolen you're not getting anymore."
"This really means a lot to me, Michael. I promise to repay you one day." she says, standing and giving a deep bow while clutching the sack to her chest.
He shrugs, "Just be a good 'Apprentice' and we'll be even."
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As soon as Yisra leaves the Arcanaeum, Michael closes his book and hands it back to Urag before leaving. He was interested, to say the least, she hadn't been the first person to express concern over Malyn's research... There were quiet rumours going around that most Masters also suspected foul play...
He'd actually asked the Arch-Mage about it after Malyn had 'invited' him to work for him, and even the head of this institution wasn't too sure. He'd had Malyn show what he was doing, but he suspected that it had all been trimmed down to lesser than what it was.
It was for this reason that Michael had snuck out and activated Cloak and Dagger. Malyn usually slept inside his laboratory, so using this time when he was giving a lecture was probably the best chance he'd get to discover just what the man was doing.
Silently creeps over to the Hall of Countenance and slips inside after making sure the coast was clear. Luckily, no one was present, allowing him to go up to the third floor where the man's laboratory was supposedly placed.
It wasn't too hard to find either as the other rooms lacked the many enchanting tables and broken, discarded soul gems that Malyn's research was supposedly based on.
It takes a couple minutes for him to sift through the papers, but steadily he gets an idea on what his true motives for researching soul gems really was... The Arch-Mage had said that the man was researching on the other applications soul gems had that didn't require you to kill creatures to reap their souls.
The Arch-Mage's hope was for them to find an alternative to such brutal methods... But, that all seemed like an afterthought to Malyn... Judging by the filled black soul gems he'd found tucked behind one of the desks, the man's morality was far more skewed than one might expect.
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